The 10 Best (And Worst) Reactions to Kendrick Lamar's Epic Verse

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013|

Posted by: Stephanie Orentas

Kendrick Lamar started a frenzy in the hip-hop world yesterday with his absolute beast of a verse on Big Sean's "Control". Everyone reacted as though Kendrick just dissed his peers due to his lofty ego, but K Dot was really trying to get people talking. There hasn't been much excitement in the day to day hip-hop world as of late and the dude wanted to stir things up a bit, and stir them up he did. We've gone through the first ten responses to the diss track and there are some really solid verses as well as some pretty awful stuff. One thing is for sure, Kendrick is a murderer on the mic, but he's smart too. Hopefully this verse is something that revitalizes the game.

1. Iman Shumpert This actually isn't too bad for what you would expect from a professional athlete, especially after this Knicks theme song. Dude's got some flow and the lines aren't painfully awkward. Could use some better production value on the vocals, but it's not the worst Kendrick response out there.

2. Fred The Godson Fred is upset with K Dot for saying he's the king of New York. The verse is pretty mediocre. Weak flow, sub par rhymes; it's this kind of shit that Kendrick was hoping for to prove how good he is compared to all these other guys with inflated egos.

3. Lupe Fiasco Man, Lupe really seems the most butt-hurt out of everybody. His verse is solid, though. All sorts of name calling and word play that says "I'm offended and now everyone's gonna know." Kendrick's was still better.

4. B.o.B. I like this response. He's making fun of the way Kendrick raps by emulating the style, but doing it kind of half assed, as though he's saying something about Kendrick's spitting. And then there's the instrumental with the guitar playing; Bobby Ray is by far a better musician than 90 percent of the competition, but most people don't give him the credit for that, they just care about his flow (which he also doesn't get enough credit for).

5. King Los This is one of the better responses for sure. Los is a beast. Flow is on point, and he even shouts out Kendrick (as well as 10 or so other guys) using the complete reverse psychology effect to comment on K Dot's "Control" verse. It's a comment on how what Kendrick did for the hip-hop game is a good thing, but Los prefers to build people up rather than tear them down.

6. Astro Another trash flow (comparably). This dude is trying to defend NY, but he sounds preachy and while it's better than average, this is a heavy hitters' battle and he doesn't belong.

7. Joell Ortiz This is a solid verse from a dude who was smart enough to ride the trend wave and actually deliver. Of all the gents defending NYC, Ortiz does it best.

9. Cassidy I thought I liked this at first, but it really lacks energy and individuality, which is the entire point of posting one of these responses. Cassidy just sounds like another dude with an ego who thinks he's the best.

10. Meek Mill Ah, one of the dudes who got called out comes back with a response. Meek's got a solid take on the game going on right now. This interview clip lays out the true purpose of Kendrick's fire, to reinvigorate the competitive nature of hip-hop and to get MCs to prove that they got what it takes.

We'll keep you posted if anyone notable comes back with something life-changing, but now that the craze is catching on, you can expect a lot more trash coming out too. We're about to find out who's legit and who isn't. Good job Kendrick, we know that's what you wanted.